Railway-signaling track instrument.



H. A. & J. A. HOESCHEN.

RAILWAY SIGNALING TRACK INSTRUMENT.

APPLxcATloN FILED MAR. 5. 1914.

Patented sept. 10,1918.

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H. A..& l. A. HOESCHEN.

RAILWAY STGNALING TRACK INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5, I9I4.

Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

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TINTE@ STATES FATFNT FFTQE.

HENRY A. HOESCI-IEN ANI) JOSEPH A. HOESCHEN, F OMAHA, NEIBRQASKA, ASSIGNORS TO HOESCHEN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEBRASKA.

RAILWAY-SIGNALING TRACK INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

Application led March 5, 1914. SeralNo. 822,697.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that we, HENRY A. HoEscHE-N and JOSEPH A. I-IoEsoHnN, both of Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Signaling Track Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to railway signal actuating and controlling mechanism, and it is the object thereof to provide simple and positive means for actuating or controlling electrical signaling mechanism by means of certain movements of the railway track rails caused by the passage of trains along the track. A further object of the invention is to provide differential or selective means whereby different electrical circuits may be established in accordance with the direction of movement of a train along the track. More specific objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of one of the rails of a track, having applied thereto devices embodying our invention, Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view of one of the devices, on the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. l, certain portions thereof being broken away, Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating an arrangement of electrical circuits and circuitcontrolling devices, Fig. 4 is a detail end view cf, a clamp-block employed for attaching the tilting-lever to the rail, Fig. 5 is a plan view of the generator and shunt-switch casing, Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the same on the plane of the line 6-6 of Fig. 7, Fig. 7 is a side view of the casing, Fig. S is an end view of the same, Fig. 9 is a detail vertical sectional view on the plane of the line 9 9 of Fig. 5, and Fig. 10 is a transverse vertical section on the plane of the line 10-10 of Fig. 7.

rThe steel rails ordinarily employed in the construction of railway tracks have a certain degree of elasticity and flexibility, and, under the stresses to which the rails are subjected by the wheels of a train passing over them, the rails aremore or less distorted or forced out of their normal form or position. In properly constructed track such distortions or displacements of the rails are well within the elastic limits of the material, so that the changes of form or of position are not permanent, and the normal form or position is resumed as the distorting stress is removed. Each wheel of a train, at its point of engagement with the rail, is the agent or medium of application of such a distorting stress, and the effect of such stress upon the rail is, in general, greatest at the point of engagement with the wheel and diminishes to an inappreciable amount at a comparatively short distance along the rail each way from the wheel. In the case of a moving wheel the zone of distortion in the rail moves with the wheel, progressing longitudinally of the rail asa wave therein. In all ordinary railway practice the wheels have flanges which engage the inner sides of the rail-heads, and such engagement causes an outward lateral pressure to be eX- erted upon the upper part of the rail. The lower part or base-flanges of the rail are secured to the ties, but the connection thereof is sufliciently yieldable to permit an appreciable lateral movement of the rail-head, the rail-section being tilted more or less about a longitudinal axis passing through the lower part thereof. This tilting movement may be only local in the rail-body, so that the effect with reference to any considerable length of the rail is that of a torsional displacement or twisting thereof, being greatest in the transverse plane at which the pressure is applied and diminishing at each side of said plane until points are reached at which there is no appreciable distortion or displacement from the normal. It will be understood that this tilting or torsional displacement is but one element of the total distortion of the rail-body resulting from the pressure of wheels thereon, but in our present invention it is this element only, that of lateral tilting or torsional displacement of the rail, that is made use of. As the described movements of the rail are very slight, means are provided by which the pritend out laterally beyond the ordinary ties 12. Levers 14 are rigidly secured to the rail and extend out laterally between the pairs oflong ties v13. Each lever is provided at its inner end with an integral hook 15 which engages the 'inner base flange of the rail, as shown in Fig. 2. Mounted slidably on the lever is a clamp-block 16 of which the upper portion forms a hook adapted to engagethe outer base-flange of the rail. At the sides of.l the clamp block are lugs 17 through ,which are passed the ends of a U-bolt 1 8.

Said U-boltA passes around the lower side of JLhe lever, engaging a shoulder formed thereon near the hook 15, and on the end of the bolt are nuts by which the clamp-block may be drawn up tight against the rail. rI he lever is thus irmly attached to the rail so that any tilting or torsional displacement of the rail-body at the place where the lever is attached will be communicated to the latter, and such movements, even though very slight, will result in movements of the outer or free end of the lever great enough to be employed directly for actuating the desired mechanism. Preferably the outer end of the lever is pressed yieldingly upward, so that the lever exerts a torsional stress upon the rail tending to, move the upper part or head thereof `inwardly or laterally toward the other rail of the track. Thus, at the point oic vconnection with the lever, the rail-section is normally tilted or twistedA slightly inward at the head, and the pressure of the wheels of a train passing along the track, by pressing the rail-head outwardly, twist the same back to or slightly beyond the position in which it would lie normally if it were not for the initial distortion caused by the upward pressure at the end of the lever. In Fig. 2 the normal position of the railbody is shown in full lines and the position to which it is moved by the wheel passing along the rail is indicated by dottedlines. It will be understood, of course, that the actual movements of the rail-body are very slight and that proportionally the displacement is greatly exaggerated in the drawing.

In Fig. 2 there is shown a simple form of mechanism adapted to be operated by the movement of the tilting-lever 14, The

mechanism is inclosed in a casing 2O into which the free end of the lever extends. At one side of the casing a pipe 21 is connected therewith and extends in toward the rail 1l, inclosing the lever, and near the inner end of the pipe the same and the lever are pivotally connected t0 each other by a pin 22. At the end of the pipe, where the lever enters the same, a suitable packing` 23 01"' rubber or the like is employed to stop up the opening between the lever and the walls of-the pipe and exclude water and debris therefrom. The packing may conveniently be retained in place by means of a wrapping of adhesive tape (not shown in the drawing) placed around the end of the pipe and the adjacent portion of the lever. On the casing 2,0 at the sides of the pipe are lugs 24 through which are passed. vertical adjusting-screws 25 the lower ends of the screws resting freely upon the upper surface of a cross-bar or support 26 which extends across between a pair of the ties 13 parallel with the rail l1. In the casing beneath the free end of the lever is a vertically extending pin 27 of which the lower portion extends down into a tubular portion 28 of the casing, fitting slidably within a nipple formed on the inner end of a plug 29 which is screwed into the lower end of the tubular casing-portion 28. A spring 30 is disposed around the pin within the casingportion 28 and bears against a collar 3l on the pin so as to normally press the pin yieldingly upward against the end of the lever. A further upward pressure is exerted upon the lever by a spring 32 which is inclosed by a pipe 33 screwed into the casing beneath the lever, as shown. lllithin a chamber formed in the casing adjacent to the collar 31 on the pin 27, is disposed a shunt-switch or electrical circuit-controlling device A comprising insulated contact-plates 34C and 35 and a springi plate 36 of which the end extends above the collar 3l. Through the end of the casing are passed insulated binding-posts 37 with which the contact-plates 34 and 35 are connected. The outer ends of the bindingposts are covered by a removable cap 33 having at its outer side a nipple through which wires may be passed into the bindingposts. The side of the chamber containing the shunt-switch is normally closed by a removable plate 19. The shunt-switch A is arranged s0 that the contact-plates 3A and 35 are normally separated, the upper plate 35 having a tendency to curve upwardly away from the lower plate 34, and the spring-plate 36 being normally bent upwardly by the pressure of the collar 31 thereon. lhen the pin 27 is pushed downwardly the spring-plate 36 moves down with it and` forces the plate 35 down into engagement withthe upturned end of the plate 34: so

that an electrical connection is formed between them. When the rail is tilted by a. wheel passing along the track, as before described, the outer or free end of the lever 14 is moved downwardly as represented by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the pin 27 being pushed downwardly and the springs 30 and 32 compressed. The movement of the lever also slightly depresses the inner end of the pipe 21 with which the lever is pivotally connected by the pin 22, and the movement of the pipe causes a very slight rocking movement of the casing 20 upon the ends of the adjusting-screws which rest upon the surface of the cross-bar or support 26. By adjustments of the screws 25 the casing may be raised or lowered relatively to the crossbar 26, and such raising and lowering of the casing varies the relation of the lever to the casing, thereby increasing or decreasing the amount of pressure exerted upon the lever by the springs 30 and 32. The relation of the lever to the casing may be observed through an opening in the side of the casing adjacent to the end of the lever,said opening being normally closed by a screwplug 39.

In Figs. 5 to 10, inclusive, there is illustrated a more elaborate form of instrument including a magneto-electric lgenerator adapted to be actuated by the tilting-lever. In said instrument certain parts are identical with those of the simple shunt-switchoperating instrument hereinbet'ore described, and said parts are designated by like reference characters so that a detailed explanation of their structure and operation is unnecessary. In the generator instrument there is, in addition to the casing 2O and integral therewith, a casing 40 in which is contained a magneto-electric generator comprising U-shaped permanent magnets 41, pole-pieces 42 extending downwardly from the ends of the magnets, coils 43 disposed aro-und said pole-pieces, and a pivoted armature normally engaging` the ends of the pole-pieces. The armature is inclosed by a removable cap 45, and a light spring 46 is arranged in the cap under the armature, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, to normally press the armature upwardly toward the ends of the pole-pieces 42. @ne end of the cap 45 extends beneath the casing-portion 28, and in the lower end of said casing-portion is a perforate plug 29 through which a pin 27 extends down into proximity to the free end of the armature 44. The pin 27 extends up into engagement with the end of the tilting-lever 14 and carries a collar 31 for engagement with the spring 30, similarly to the pin 27. A spring 47, carried by the armature, engages the lower end of the pin 27 Downward movement of the tilting-lever relatively to the casing depresses vthe pin 27', and the lower end of said pin presses the spring 47 down until it engages the protruding end of the armature beneath it, and the armature is then forced out of engagement with the pole-pieces. Assoon as the armature becomes disengaged from the pole-pieces the magnetic attraction is greatly decreased by the presence of the airgap in the magnetic-circuit of the generator, and the spring 47 is then able to move the armature away from the p'oles even though there be no further downward movement of the pin 27. The rapid decrease of mag netie flux through the coils 43, caused by the displacement of the armature from the poles, l generates a strong electrical impulse in any circuit with which the coils.

are then connected. As the parts return to normal position a second impulse is generated in the coils by the increase of magnetic iux therein as the armature comes into contact with the poles.

In Fig. 9 there is shown a shunt-switch,

B comprising insulated contact-plates 34 and 35 and a spring-plate 36 of which the end extends above the collar 31. ,This shunt-switch is arranged so that the contact-plates are normally in electrical connection with each other, the spring-plate 36 being disposed beneath the contact-plate 35 and being held up by the collar 31 so that said plate 35 is in engagement with Lthe down-turned end of the plate 34. The parts are so proportioned that as the pin 27 is moved downwardly, but while the spring 47 is being compressed and before the armature is moved to generate the electrical impulse in the coils, the spring-plate 36 and contact-plate 35 will be permitted to move down far enough` for the latter to pass out of engagement with the lupper plate 34. After the downward movement of the armature is made, however, and during the return or upward movement of the pin 27, the plate 35 is raised into contact with the plate 34 -while the armature is still held away from the poles by the spring 47. Thus when the second electrical impulse is generated, by the engagement of the armature with the poles, the plates 34 and 35 are in cont-act, while during the generation of the first impulse, by movement of the armature away from the poles. the plates 34 and 35 are not in contact with each other. The normally-closed shunt-switch B formed by the contact-plates 34 and 35 is preferably connected in parallel with the generator coils, as represented in Fig. 3. When so connected, said switch serves to prevent tho transmission, over the line-circuit formed through the wires 43 and 49, of the impulse generated in the coils by the return movement of the armature, the switch completing a low-resistance shunt-circuit which receives practically all of the current. The normally-closed shunt-switch, by forming a short-circuit for the generator-coils enables several of the instruments to be connected in series in the same line-circuit without causing an excessive resistance in said linocircuit due to the presence therein of a number of the generator-.coils The shunt-switch B also serves to protect .the generator-coils from injury by any foreign' currents from circuits which might become crossed with the line-circuit.

In order to obtaina differential or selective 'operation of signals, in accordance with the direction of movement of trains along a railway track, one of the generator instruments and one of the simple switch-operating instruments are connected with the same rail in proximity to each other, as shown in Fig. l, and the shunt-switches of the two instruments are both connected with .the line-circuit, in parallel with each other,

as shown in Fig. 3. Referring to said Figs. 1 and 3, it will be apparent that if a train is moving along the track in a direction such that ,the switch A will be operated, and closed, before the generator is actuated,'the first electrical impulse caused when the generator is actuated will pass through the lowresistance shunt offered by said switch A, while the second electrical impulse will pass through the switch B as before described, and neither impulse will be communicated to the line-circuit. If the train is moving in the other direction, however, the generator will be actuated first, the first impulse will be communicated to the line-circuit, and said impulse may be utilized to control or actuate any desired signaling mechanism connected inthe line-circuit.

Fromthe foregoing the general nature and scope of our invention will be apparent, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the artthat the invention is capable of a wide range of adaptation, and that the devices shown and described are merely illustrative species comprised within the generic idea of means characterizing the invention.

Now, having described our invention,what we claim and desire to secure by Letters i y Patent is:

l. The combination with a railway track rail, of a lever disposed transversely to the rail, and means for rigidly securing one end of said lever to the rail so that torsional deflection of the rail at the point of connection of the lever therewith will cause movement of the free end of the lever about the axis of torsion.

2. The combination with a railway tra-ck rail, of a tilting-lever extending transversely to the rail and having one of its ends rigidly secured to the rail, vwhereby transverse tilt-` ing of the rail-body at the/secured end of the lever will cause corresponding movements of the remote end of the lever.

3. The combination with a railway track rail, of a lever having a part thereof rigidly secured to the rail and a part extending transversely tothe rail and distant from the rail-secured part, whereby slight torsional deflections of the rail-body at the secured end ofthe lever will cause movements of the distant part greater in extent than the deflections of the rail-body.

Ll. The combination with a railway track rail, of a lever extending transversely to the rail and having one end -rigidly secured to the rail, and yielding means engaging the lever to exert a torsional stress upon the rail.

5. lThe combination with a railway track rail, of a lever having one end rigidly secured tothe rail and a portion extending laterally to a point remote from the rail, yielding means engaging the leverto exert a torsional sti-ess upon the rail and tilt the same laterally in the plane of the lever, and electrical circuit-controlling means actuated by the lever when the rail is tilted in opposition to the yielding means.

6. The combination with a railway track rail, of a lever having one end rigidly secured to the rail and extending transversely of the rail to a point remote therefrom, yielding means engaging the lever to cause a torsional stress in the rail-body where the lever is secured thereto, the remote end of the lever being movable by deflection of the rail in opposition to said torsional stress, and signal-controlling means actuated by said remote end of the lever.

7. The combination with a railway track rail, of a transversely extending member rigidly secured to the rail, yielding means normally pressing upon the free end of said member to exert a torsional stress on the rail and tilt the rail in a direction contrary to the direction in which the same tends to be tilted by wheel-pressure thereon, and signal-controlling means adapted to be actuated by movement of the free end of the member.

8. In a signal-controlling mechanism, a track-rail, a lever having one end krigidly secured to the rail and extending laterally therefrom, a easing inclosing the free end rof the lever, means for varying the normal relation of the casing to said end of the lever, and a switch disposed within the casing and controlled by movements of the lever relatively tothe casing. Y

9. 1n a signal-controlling mechanism, the combination with a track-rail and a support disposed at a distance laterally from the rail, of a casing resting freely upon said support and having a tubular .portion extending therefrom toward the rail, adjusting means for raising and lowering the casing relatively to the support, a lever extending subscribed our names, each inthe presence into the easing through the tubular portion of two Witnesses.

and pvotally connected With the tubular HENRY A. HOESCHEN. portion near the end thereof adjoining the Witnesses:

5 rail, means securing one end of the lever D. O. BARNELL,

rigidly to the rail, and means Within the H. P. RYNERY. casing adapted to press upon the end of the JOSEPH A HOESCHEN lever therein to exert a torsional stress upon the part of the rail to which the lever is Witnesses: 10 secured. ALBERTSENGER,

In testimony whereof We have hereunto ROBERT B. CLARK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G. 

